Nelson, U.s. Disagree On Reservation's Status

November 7, 1985|By Ruth Rasche of The Sentinel Staff

MELBOURNE — For the second time in less than a week, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior said he has made no commitment on the status of an application for a Seminole Indian reservation west of Melbourne.

Interior Secretary Donald Hodel disagreed with Tuesday's statement by U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson that Hodel had said he would deny the application.

Actually, Hodel may not be asked to make the decision, his aide Bob Walker said Wednesday.

Nelson repeated Tuesday his contention that Hodel would deny the application by the Seminole Tribe of Florida for federal land trust status of 100 acres near Interstate 95 and Sarno Road. Reservation status would permit the tribe to build a 1,200-seat bingo hall and tourist attraction.

Nelson said Hodel would veto the application because the secretary had made a ''policy decision that the government should not create reservations so commercial enterprises can be developed on land that is otherwise private property and on the tax roles.''

Hodel said Wednesday: ''That is Congressman Nelson's interpretation of my statement -- that as a policy matter I do not favor remote land acquisition for Indian reservations.''

Walker said Hodel has not even seen the Seminole's application and was only ''talking in general terms about how he is going to formulate a policy position about land trust status applications in general'' when he spoke Tuesday with Nelson.

Nelson said Wednesday he was surprised by Hodel's response, but the Melbourne Democrat said he stands by his earlier statement. Nelson said he still believes that his comments fairly reflect what Hodel told him.

A week ago, Nelson said Hodel had assured him last spring that the Indian's application would be denied. Hodel said then he had made no such commitment.

Normally, Hodel would not be asked to make a decision about an application for reservation status, Walker said.

Indian tribes now run about 90 bingo operations at sites across the country. About 40 similar applications for land trust status have been submitted for approval, Walker said.

''There are a number of applications in the works now and the only information Hodel has about the Seminole application has come from Congressman Nelson,'' Walker said. ''If this thing does end up in his Hodel's lap, there's still a lot of information he'll have to know before he makes a decision.''

The Seminole application is being considered by the eastern division office of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington. That office will make a recommendation and forward it to the main bureau, which then could ''rubber stamp'' the request unless officials in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs say they want

to consider the application, Walker said.

The bureau's office in Hollywood, Fla., where the tribe is based, recommended Oct. 25 that the application be approved. The bureau in Washington is ''90 percent sure'' it also will recommend approval of the application, a government source said.

Hodel probably will not make his policy decision on federal land trust status applications until the post of assistant secretary in his department is filled, Walker said. Until that policy is determined, applications will continue to be considered on a ''case-by-case basis.''

Hodel's decision ''still is evolving, but this Seminole application is one of the cases that will help shape the policy decision,'' Walker said.

The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs is expected today to nominate Ross Swimmer, principal chief of the Cherokee Indian Nation, for the job. The Senate must take a final vote on Swimmer's appointment.

If the Seminole's application is approved, the tribe could operate high- stakes bingo games and sell tax-free cigarettes at the site that would be excluded from local and state controls and taxes.

Bingo operations on Seminole reservations in Hollywood, Fla., and Tampa are the main source of income for the tribe's 1,630 members, with about $4 million in profits coming from the games each year, Tribal Chairman James Billie has said. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.